As an educator, I know it is my responsibility to prepare my students for the work force they will be entering when they graduate from high school and/or college. I was a career changer, so I also know the importance of being able to use technology, be creative in dealing with problems and situations, and being able to use higher order thinking skills to make sure things are done in a proficient manner for a business to be successful and run smoothly with its’ day to day operations. I plan to enable my students to be prepared by giving them the tools they need to become proficient with 21st Century Skills. The NETS-T for teachers gives a very clear indication of what I need to do as a teacher to prepare my students. I would like to improve standard 2; design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessment. I would also like to improve standard 3; model digital-age work and learning.
GOAL: My goal is to improve in the following two areas from the NETS-T indicators:
- Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments which state that teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessments incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitude identifies in the NETS-S.
- Model Digital-Age Work and Learning which state that teachers exhibit knowledge, skills and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society.
ACTION PLAN:
I. My plan of action for standard 2 – design and develop digital-age learning experience and assessments is to:
- Continue with my current Master’s Program at Walden University, and take information gained from the resources, my professor, and my colleagues back to my school and staff to begin implementation of some of the technologies introduced and taught in the program
- Create a consistent, calendar giving students computer time weekly to use different technologies to create different types of projects used for assessment and to show mastery of concepts taught
- Commit to creating a minimum of one lesson focused on students using technology as a learning tool, including but not limited to podcasts, blogs, glogs, wikis, educational social networking (edmodo)
II. My plan of action to model digital-age work and learning is to:
- Incorporate Web 2.0 technology into my lessons as much as possible, encouraging students to go to the library outside of school to use computers for weekly projects on edu.glogster.com, and edmodo.com
- Communicate with parents on technologies being used and make an effort to educate them on how to use digital tools used inside and outside of the classroom
MONITOR PLAN:
I will monitor my plan by analyzing the work my students are completing with the technologies I use, to see what worked and what doesn’t, what gives the best evidence of mastery of standards taught..
EVALUATE PLAN:
I will keep and monitor data on students progress from use of technology. I will conference with students to see how technology has improved their learning experience, and inquire about their likes and dislikes.
References:
International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx
I am a career changer as well with a good deal of technology experience. This semester I would like to include a variety of new technology in my classes - primarily, so I can see what students seem to enjoy and benefit from the most.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, one road block I have run into recently regards getting parental consent. I have one student whose parent refuses to sign the consent. Have you ever run into this problem...if so, how did you handle it? I intend to contact the parent and try to find out the nature of her concerns and see if there would be a problem if he uses a pseudonym.
Good Evening,
ReplyDeleteI really like your idea in asking the parents what types of technology are being used at their home. I think that parents would actually be very into doing this and maybe even come to an informational meeting at your school. Great post!
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ReplyDeleteHi Margaret,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. I have not ran into the problem of parents not consenting to the use of technology in the classroom because they understand it is for educational purposes, and I do provide them with the option of using a pseudoname but have never had to use it. I have had parents refuse to allow their child's picture to be used in any fashion in the classroom, especially on the internet. I usually do not push the matter too hard, but explain to the students that when their parents sign the paper refusing for their picture to be published, they will not be seen in some of the posters or presentation of certain activities, and they understand. Usually some of them will go home and explain this to the parents and get the paper signed for permission, but I have a large hispanic population in my school so we run into that a lot.
Hopefully once you contact the parents and talk to them, they will have a better understanding and give consent with the pseudonames being used. Good luck!